Celtic rely on double act

The balance of Martin ONeills midfield has switched from defence to attack with the twinning of Petrov and Pearson

Speaking in pre-season, Paul Lambert, the Celtic captain, claimed only one or two changes were needed, nothing more, to restore success. He has been proved right, but could never have envisaged being one of them.

It was not so much a switch in personnel made by Martin O’Neill, the Celtic manager, but a shift in emphasis. In previous years, of three central midfielders, two would hold. Now it is only one, and two are designated to attack. O’Neill reasoned that if Celtic were to move forward as a club, they had to do so in greater numbers as a side. With Neil Lennon having effectively gone solo, Stilian Petrov and Stephen Pearson have replaced him and Lambert as the Celtic double act on centre stage.

It is akin to how public taste in comedy evolved from the slow, knowing wit of Morecombe and Wise to the pace and zip of